Diaspora Summit: United Against Austerity

This report provided by the National Institute for Latino Policy (NiLP) lists a series of actions taken by different organizations and individuals in reaction to the deadline given to the U.S. Congress by House Speaker Paul Ryan to produce legislation that will aid Puerto Rico with its debt crisis, and to the approaching election period both in the US and in the Island. The events described include the following: the Puerto Rico/Puerto Ricans: A Diaspora Summit, the Caucus of Puerto Rican Elected Officials, the Vamos4PR Network’s meeting, the Hedge Clippers Group’s actions, the demonstration planned by the Call to Action for Puerto Rico group, as well as several campaigns, press conferences, and protests demanding action and pressuring the government. The report also lists the most serious challenges faced by Puerto Rico due to its debt and its colonial status. Among these are the need to familiarize the American public with Puerto Rico’s issues, the urgency to develop a coherent and coordinated strategy to affect the presidential campaign, the importance of enabling stateside Puerto Ricans to play a role in the proposal and advancement of solutions.

This article reports on the discussions held by the participants of the Puerto Rico Diaspora Summit, a conference organized on April 22, 2016 by Edwin Meléndez, Director of the Center of Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College. The meeting’s main purpose was to underline the need for dialogue between the Puerto Ricans of the Island and those in the Diaspora to find the best solutions to the economic and humanitarian crises faced by the Island. Well known academics and politicians analyzed the causes of the situation and offered viable alternatives for its resolution. They agreed on the need for Island and Mainland Puerto Ricans to work in unison and to take advantage of the pre-election period to pressure the US government to act on behalf of Puerto Rico.

This article summarizes the events that took place during a conference organized by Hunter College’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies held on April 22 and 23, 2016. The first session informed the audience about the economic crisis affecting the Island, and the second sessions discussed tentative approaches and solutions. The conference participants highlighted the magnitude of the crisis, the dire situation of Puerto Rico due to its political status, and the dangers of PROMESA, a congressional bill that would force extreme austerity cuts that would provoke a humanitarian crisis. They called for unity between inland and stateside Puerto Ricans and emphasized the privileged political power of the Diaspora to pressure the U.S. government for positive solutions, given that PROMESA is still a work in progress.

This article highlights the main points presented at the Diaspora Summit II of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies held at Hunter College and attended by representatives from a hundred Puerto Rican organizations. The two main goals of the conference were to demand an audit of Puerto Rico’s debt and to pressure for a substantial reduction of its principal. The conference attendees emphasized the need for a realistic payment plan that would allow Puerto Rico’s economy to grow. They also agreed that the Fiscal Oversight Board’s plan will bring an era of harsh cutbacks in government spending, which will, in turn, lead to a contraction in the economy. Other topics discussed at the conference were the disparity in the austerity’s distribution, Puerto Rico’s lack of control over its own economy, the lack of parity between the US and Puerto Rico regarding Medicaid funds, and the need to defend workers’ pensions when dealing with the debt.